Bøger af Margaret Alice Murray

"The Witch-Cult in Western Europe" is a 1921 anthropological book by Margaret Murray. At the time of its publication, it gained attention due to the success of Frazer's "Golden Bough." However, Murray's theories were widely discredited. Her central hypothesis, known as the witch-cult hypothesis, suggests that the accusations made against "witches" in Europe were actually based on a real, though clandestine, pagan religion that worshiped a horned god.

Murray's Witch Cult in Western Europe 1921, written during a period she was unable to do field work in Egypt, laid out the essential elements of her thesis that a common pattern of underground pagan resistance to the Christian Church existed across Europe. The pagans organized in covens of thirteen worshippers, dedicated to a male god and held ritual sabbaths. Murray maintained that pagan beliefs and religion dating from the neolithic through the medieval period, secretly practiced human sacrifice until exposed by the witchhunt starting around 1450.

The mass of existing material on this subject is so great that the author has not attempted to make a survey of the whole of European 'Witchcraft', but has confined herself to an intensive study of the cult in Great Britain. In order, however, to obtain a clearer understanding of the ritual and beliefs she had recourse to French and Flemish sources, as the cult appears to have been the same throughout Western Europe. The sources from which the information is taken are the judicial records and contemporary chroniclers. In the case of the chroniclers, the author has studied their facts and not their opinions. This is an excellent book for those interested in learning the history of Witch-Craft in Western Europe.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1921 Edition.

This book has been professionally retyped and reformatted to fit modern day standards by officials of the Portuguese Institute of Higher Studies in Geopolitics and Auxiliary Sciences. The mass of existing material on this subject is so great that I have not attempted to make a survey of the whole of European 'Witchcraft', but have confined myself to an intensive study of the cult in Great Britain. In order, however, to obtain a clearer understanding of the ritual and beliefs I have had recourse to French and Flemish sources, as the cult appears to have been the same throughout Western Europe. The New England records are unfortunately not published in extenso; this is the more unfortunate as the extracts already given to the public occasionally throw light on some of the English practices. It is more difficult to trace the English practices than the Scotch or French, for in England the cult was already in a decadent condition when the records were made; therefore records in a purely English colony would probably contain much of interest.The sources from which the information is taken are the judicial records and contemporary chroniclers. In the case of the chroniclers I have studied their facts and not their opinions. I have also had access to some unpublished trials among the Edinburgh Justiciary Records and also in the Guernsey Greffe.

IN this book I have retold the legends of the Gods of ancient Egypt, legends, which were current in the " morning of the world," preserved to the present day engraved on stone and written on papyri. I have told them in my own way, adhering strictly to the story, but arranging the words and phrases according to the English method ; retaining, however, as far as possible the expressions and metaphors of the Egyptian. In some cases I have inserted whole sentences in order to make the sense clear ; these are in places where the story divides naturally into several parts, as in " The Battles of Horus," and " The Regions of Night and Thick Darkness"; where each incident, so like the one preceding and the one following, is kept distinct in the mind of the reader by this means. This repetition is quite in accordance with the style of Egyptian literature.

Margaret Alice Murray's acclaimed history of European witchcraft is accompanied by descriptions of the rituals performed and concoctions made by witches centuries ago.The author's burgeoning knowledge is a service to the subject; what might otherwise be overly dry or arcane is revealed in a manner both exciting and thought-provoking. We are offered historical observations of the witchcraft tradition, with the life and times of the women accused of its practice examined in the context of the era.Readers will be left in no doubt about the traditions, ceremonies and magical rites practiced by witches. Although Murray was later found to be overstating the influence and magnitude of the witchcraft tradition - she considered it to be a popular successor to paganism - she explains its origins, growth and persecution of witches with astute narration. Murray posits that witches were thought to be worshiping the devil; a grave crime in the fervently Christian Europe of yore.

Margaret Alice Murray's acclaimed history of European witchcraft is accompanied by descriptions of the rituals performed and concoctions made by witches centuries ago.The author's burgeoning knowledge is a service to the subject; what might otherwise be overly dry or arcane is revealed in a manner both exciting and thought-provoking. We are offered historical observations of the witchcraft tradition, with the life and times of the women accused of its practice examined in the context of the era.Readers will be left in no doubt about the traditions, ceremonies and magical rites practiced by witches. Although Murray was later found to be overstating the influence and magnitude of the witchcraft tradition - she considered it to be a popular successor to paganism - she explains its origins, growth and persecution of witches with astute narration. Murray posits that witches were thought to be worshiping the devil; a grave crime in the fervently Christian Europe of yore.